Government has concluded studies for a metro system in Malta, Transport Minister Ian Borg has said.

Speaking on Xtra, Borg also said that the studies were accessible to four other people in the country.

“I wish that the governments of the 1990s or 1980s had made plans for a metro system in Malta. I would be able to get to Valletta within a quarter of an hour,” Borg said.

“What I did in 2017 was get studies done,” he continued.

Borg did not provide more details on the studies and whether the government will proceed with the plans.  However, he did say that he was ready to discuss the issue.

“I’m ready to discuss the issue. But if we find a problem with a roundabout in Burmarrad because a contractor has a supermarket next door than we’re better off not starting the discussion at all,” he said.

Debate surrounding a mass transport system has been simmering in recent years due to Malta’s congestion problems. Many have backed a metro; however, there are questions surrounding the project’s feasibility, given the country’s population and geography.

In January 2019, Borg told The Malta Independent that the first line of a mass transportation system would take eight to 10 years to complete if the country decides to implement such a project.

He said that international firm Arup had drawn up potential plans for an underground light rail system.

Borg also referenced the recent controversy surrounding the partial demolition of a garden in Żebbuġ to make way for a road-widening project. He denied that it was a public garden, saying it was an illegal parapet belonging to a squatter.

Infrastructure Malta has defended the development, arguing the local council had applied for the development and had originally wanted the street to be widened further.

However, a Planning Authority application for the project submitted by the local council had been withdrawn in 2017.

Mayor Malcolm Paul Galea said that roadworks had been planned for years but decried the lack of communication with the council on plans.

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